Match-safe.



No. 732,177 PATENTBD JUNE 30, 1903. 3. DE BRUIN.

MATCH SAFE.

APPLIOATIOK FILED FEB. 2, 1903.

H0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-833E! l.

PATENTBD JUNE so. 1903.

J. DE BRUIN.

MATCH SAFE.

APPLICATION FILED ran. 2. 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 H0 IODEL.

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Fatented .1 ans 30, I903.

PATENT @FFICE.

JOOST DE BRUIN, OF CHIOAGO, ILLINOIS.

MATCH-SAFE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 732,177. dated June 30, 1903. Application filed February 2, 1903. Serial No. 141,421. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, J oosr DE BRUIN, a citizen of the United States, residing'at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Match-Safes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

My invention relates more particularly to that class of match-safes especially designed for receiving an entire box of matches, together with the box, at one time and holding the same in position to be conveniently withdrawn one or more at a time as needed.

My invention has for its primary object to provide an improved and simple form of match-safe adapted to leave the matches exposed at or near the lower end of the box and to permit them at this point to fall outwardly away from the main supply, so that each may be lifted upwardly out of the safe without spilling the remainder, while the remainder will gradually feed downwardly to take the place of those withdrawn.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved and simple form of matchsafe which may be cheaply constructed of thin sheet material-such, for example, as, but not necessarily, paper or cardboardcapable of being produced from a fiat sheet adapted to be quickly folded into the form of a safe when needed and to lie flat and compact during storage or shipment, whereby the device willbe especially adapted for advertising purposes.

With these ends in view my invention consists in certain features of novelty in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts by which the said objects and certain other objects hereinafter appearing are attained, all as fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the said drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved match-safe, showing a box of'matches therein. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation. Fig. at is a bottom plan view. Fig. 5 is a plan of the blank from which the safe is constructed flattened out. Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 1, illustrating a modification. Fig. 7 is a vertical section on the line 7 7, Fig. 6. Fig. Sis a bottom plan thereof, and Fig. .9 is a plan of the blank from which the form shown in Figs. 6to 8 is constructed.

When the device is used for advertising purposes, it may be desirable in some instances to secure it to a backing or larger card 1, upon which may be printed the desired advertisement or which may be decorated to suit the taste. When such card is used, it is desirable to attach the match-safe proper to the upper end thereof by means of an eyelet 2, which will serve the twofold purpose of securing the two parts together and of a means whereby the safe may be hung on a nail or support, the eyelet 2 being passed through an extension or tab 3 on the safe proper. The safe proper,with this tab 3, is constructed from the blank better shown in Fig. 5. This consists of a back portion 4, which is of oblong form and a little larger than the Wider side of the match-box,which is shown at 5, and it consists, further, of two edge or side portions 6 7, the upper ends of which are substantially as deep orwide as the narroweredges of the box5, while the lower ends have downwardly-tapering enlargements 8 9, and each of these enlargements 8 9 has formed on its outer edge a downwardly-inclining projection or flap 1O 11, which have flaps 12 13, extending below the ends of the enlargements 8 9, and between which flaps 12 13 the back 4 is formed at its lower end with a portion 14,-wliich constitutes the bottom of the safe and whose ends are formed with flaps 15 16, adapted to interlock with the flaps 12 13, as hereinafter described, and the side member 6 at its upper end just above the enlargement Sis formed with a flap 1?, adapted to fold across the front of the safe and to be secured in place by attachment to the side 7 by means of ears 18 19, formed on the upper and lower ends of a flap 20.

In securing the various flaps and members of the blank together to form the safe shown in Fig. l the side portions 6 7 are first bent upwardly on the-dotted lines 21, while the flap 17 is bent toward the right parallelwith the back 4 on the dotted line 22, the flap 20 being then bent downwardly against the outer side of portion 7 on dotted line 23 and the ears 18 19 subsequently inserted through slits 24 in the portion '7, thereby completing the top half of the safe. The flaps 10 11 are then bent toward each other on dotted lines 25, so

that they will stand in the same plane at an angle to the back 4, the upper ends of the flaps 1O 11 being at this time farther from the back 4 than their lower ends, so as to constitute an outwardly-flaring tray. The flaps 12 13 are then turned up horizontally, and as a final step the flap 14 is turned upwardly on dotted line 26, and the cars 16 are passed upwardly through slits 27 in the flaps 12 13, as shown in Fig. 4, for constituting the bottom of the safe.

The combined width of the flaps 10 11 is less than the width of the back 4, so as to leave an opening or vertical slot 28 up the front of the tray, so that the matches 29 resting in the tray will be accessible to the finger and thumb of a person attempting to extract one of them, and in order that the finger may have greater freedom of movement without being interfered with by the lower edge of the front 17 the lower edge of the latter may also be slotted, as shown at 30.

In the use of the device the matches are placed horizontally through the upper end, s0v

they will feed downwardly into the tray constituted by members 8 9 10 11 14 and may thence be extracted over the upper ends of flaps 10 11. It is preferable, however, that the safe be of sufiicient capacity to permit the match-box 5, with the cover removed, to be inserted downwardly through its upper end, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

In the form of my invention shown in Figs. 6 to 9, inclusive, the construction of the blank and the way in which it is folded and secured are substantially the same as that already described, excepting thatinstead of carrying the front 17 entirely across the front of the safe in one piece it is divided into two flaps, each comprising a narrow portion 31 about equal in width to the flaps 10 11, so that when folded toward each other, as shown in Fig. 6, they will leave the slot 30 above the slot 28. These side flaps used in lieu of flap 17 also comprise laterally extended portions 32 33, respectively, the former of which is formed with a tab or ear 34 on its edge and a tongue 35 near its center, while "portion 33 is formed with two slits 36 37, which are adapted to receive the tab 34 and ear 35, respectively, when the flaps 31 32 33 are folded toward one another .on dotted lines 38 39, which constitute the outer edges of the narrower sides of the safe.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. As a new and useful article of manufacture a blank for making a match-safe comprising a rectangular back portion,'a bottom flap on said back portion, two side portions wider at their lower ends than at their upper ends, flaps on said wider portions of said side portions extending downwardly and inwardly, ears or tabs and receiving-slits provided in said flaps for securing the flaps together and means for inclosing the front side of the upperend of the safe above the widened portions of said side portions.

2. As a new and useful article of manufacture, a blank for making a match-sate comprising a rectangular back portion, a bottom flap on said back portion, two side portions on the sides of said back portion respectively extending from top to bottom thereof and having inclined flaps at their lower ends, and downwardly-extending flaps at the lower ends of the last said flaps respectively provided with means for engagement with the said bottom flap and thereby constituting the bottom of the safe, and means for inclosing the front side of the upper end of the safe above the said fiaps on the side portions.

3. As a new and useful article of manufacture, a blank for making a match-safe comprising a rectangular back portion, a bottom flap on said back portion having free laterallyextending ends or tabs, side portions having their lower ends offset and widened and downwardly-inclined at said widened portions, front flaps on the outer edge of said tapered portions, downwardly-extending flaps on the lower ends of said front flaps having means for attachment to the said flap-bottom, and means for inclosing the front side of the upper end of the safe above said front flaps.

4. As a new and useful article of manufacture, a blank for making a match-safe comprising a rectangular back portion, side portions on said back portion having their lower .ends widened and downwardly tapered, front flaps extending laterally from the upright edges of said tapered portions and being of less combined width than the width of said back portion whereby they will form the front of a tray with a slot down its front wall, means on said back portion and front flaps for forming the bottom of said tray and means for inclosing the front side of the upper end of the safe above said front flaps.

5. As a new and useful article of manufacture, a blank for making match-safes comprising a rectangular back portion, a bottom flap on said back portion, side portions having theirlower ends widened and downwardly tapered, front flaps on the tapered ends of said side portions of less combined width than said back portion and having their outer edges inclined downwardly and inwardly and their lower ends provided with flaps having means as great in width as said back portion and havlower end of said back portion for producing ing a vertical slot extending upwardly from an upwardly-flaring tray with a slot down its its lower edge throughout a material portion front side in register with said first slot.

of its height and of sufficient width to admit J OOST DE BRUIN. 5 the finger of the user, means for attaching Witnesses:

the free edge of said front flap to the opposite F. A. HOPKINS,

one of said side portions, and means at the W. B. ALLSTADT. 

